As I review this list for the second time I am struck by the notion that rose breeders who stake their claim to a piece of history by riding the tide of popular demand may too frequently end up forgotten. I grow Cadenza in my own garden because it grows happily on its own roots and is relatively free of disease. In its second year it produced a blossom or two, not much to write home about. But I am still confident that it was a good choice. I have seen Sweet Afton in a park in Berkely and was wowed by its ability to grow into a big, round well branched shrub. And I have heard that its white blossoms are extremely fragrant. It is for its fragrance that I expect Allspice would be grown as well.

The photo of Tania Verstak in Botanica's Roses promises a rose of very old fashioned and full form; but the writer suggests that the plant will too frequently disappoint. Kambala's shining gold flowers are available only in a warm climate, owing to disease problems. In a local garden I have seen Mon Cheri and I wonder whether, perhaps, mondo grass might not look better. Several of these roses are ones that a rose lover who has mastered the finer points of rose cultivation would choose to grow.